updated 12:21 pm EDT, Mon August 27, 2012

Launch to be preceded by iPhone

Corroborating recent reports, a fresh leak claims Apple will wait until October to unveil the rumored seven-inch iPad. The timing is said to be intentionally split from the launch event for the next-generation iPhone, which is widely expected to debut a month earlier in September.

Several unnamed sources also toldAllThingsD that Apple will in fact use the term "iPad mini" for the tablet, which is said to integrate a 7.85-inch display rather than the 9.7-inch spread of its predecessors. The smaller variant is said to utilize the same resolution as the iPad 2, while maintaining an overall size similar to Android tablets outfitted with 7.0-inch displays.

Other hardware features are rumored to include a new dock connector, shared with the next iPhone and considerably smaller than the current 30-pin interface. Pictures that emerged on a Chinese website also showed a camera on the back panel alongside a hole that could be used for a rear-facing microphone.

Despite the spread in formal announcements, both the iPad mini and sixth-generation iPhone are expected to arrive in time for holiday shopping. The company has yet to officially confirm any of the details that have emerged in a flurry of recent leaks, however.